Wapato Corrections Facility

Wapato Corrections Facility (also known as the Wapato Detention Facility, and colloquially Wapato Jail) is a building that was originally built as a Multnomah County jail in 2003 in the heavy industrial area of St. Johns neighborhood of Portland. It has never been put into service as a jail and was kept vacant until it was repurposed into the Bybee Lakes Hope Center homeless shelter which opened in October 2020.

Wapato Corrections Facility
LocationPortland, Oregon, U.S.
Coordinates45.626°N 122.757°W / 45.626; -122.757
StatusClosed
Security classMinimum
Capacity510
Population0

History

The Wapato Detention Facility[1] was funded in 1996 by a bond measure defined by Multnomah County Commissioners in Resolution 96-122,[2] and promoted by District Attorney Mike Schrunk and law enforcement as a response to Measure 11. The facility in St.Johns neighborhood[3] built by the Hoffman Construction Company[4] has sat empty since construction halted in 2003.[5] In March 2017, a California based developer offered $10 million for the property.[5] In November 2017 Multnomah County commissioners voted to sell Wapato to Kehoe Northwest Properties for $10.8 million.[6] Later, Kehoe counter-offered $5 million which was accepted and it was sold to Kehoe for $5 million on April 2018.[7][8] The proceeds from the sale of Wapato were then marked to be used to create permanent housing.[9]

As of April 17, 2019 the property is owned by developer Jordan Schnitzer[10] and is estimated to have a value of $8.7 million.[11] Budget limitations prevented the county from opening the facility and it has never housed an inmate, getting only incidental use such as for movie shoots. It has since become infamous, being featured by media such as CNN's Anderson Cooper.[12][13]

Repurposing

The facility is located in the heavy industrial, aircraft landing zone overlay area. Previously land use regulations prevented its use as a homeless shelter.[14]

In 2015 a petition was created online to refit the facility to house the homeless[15] and in August 2016 Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith also further supported the effort.[16] After the sale of the jail to Jordan Schnitzer he also received offers to convert Wapato to a homeless shelter and rejected them because of "cost and distance from other public services".[17]

In April 2019, a proposal was made by Kay Toran, who has been the president of Oregon Volunteers of America since 1999, to create a residential treatment program at the facility for adults experiencing addiction and mental health problems. The proposal received support from Schnitzer who called it "fabulous". Before the proposal, Schnitzer had considered using the site as a warehouse for one of his businesses, Harsch Investment Properties. Toran says that if the plan does not receive funding support in the next few years it would likely not be doable.[10]

In October 2019, Schnitzer announced that the plans to convert the facility into a community wellness center to serve the local homeless population had fallen flat. He cited low funding for renovation and a lack of support from elected officials and homeless advocacy organizations in drawing this conclusion. As such, he said, the facility would likely be demolished by the end of 2019.[18]

Bybee Lake Hope Center homeless shelter

In February 2020, Wapato jail was on track to be renovated into a 228-bed homeless facility with expected opening of September 2020. By then, $4 million in funds had been raised, enough to operate for two years without any structural changes.[19] In May 2020, the building's owner signed a lease with Bybee Lakes Hope Center for this purpose.[20]

Wapato facility was dedicated as a homeless shelter on August 12, 2020[21] and it has been in operation since October 2nd 2020 with 80 beds, with plans to add approximately 400 beds in December for long term housing.[22]

Oregon state senators Lew Frederick, Betsy Johnson, Elizabeth Steiner Hayward and Porltand Police Union president Daryl Turner sit on the advisory board of Bybee Lake Hope Center.[23]

Emergency temporary facility for COVID-19 patients

Local media outlets reported on March 19th 2020 that the facility owner Jordan Schnitzer and the Oregon Health Authority are in discussion about opening up the facility as a treatment center for COVID-19 Coronavirus patients who need in-patient care, but do not need ICU care. Schnitzer commented that he hoped to have the facility ready for this purpose by the end of March, 2020.[24][25]

  • Inside the facility during a tour in December, 2019
  • Alarm indicator panel
  • Wapato Jail corridor
  • Wapato Correctional Facility upper floor

References
  1. "Wapato Detention Facility". Multnomah County. n.d. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  2. "Resolution 96-122 1996/1997 Fund Structure" (PDF). Multnomah County. 11 July 1996.
  3. Spitz, Enid (November 12, 2015). "Look Inside St. Johns' Unoccupied Jail". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  4. Scopel, Lee (December 14, 2001). "Construction moves forward on jail". Daily Journal of Commerce. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  5. Allan, Brettman (2017-03-31). "California developer offers $10 million for Wapato". oregonlive. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  6. "Multnomah County votes to sell Wapato Jail for $10.8M". Portland Business Journal. November 9, 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  7. Staff, FOX 12. "Sale of long-unused Wapato Jail in N. Portland finalized for $5 million". KPTV.com. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  8. Montero, David (2019-02-09). "This Utah real estate agent is trying to sell a jail. It's not going so well". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  9. "Multnomah County sells Wapato Jail, proceeds go to permanent housing". Multnomah County. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  10. Peterson, Danny (17 April 2019). "Toran Offers a Plan for Wapato". The Portland Observer. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  11. "Regular Board Meeting - Apr 12th, 2018". 12 April 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  12. Simon, Dan (March 24, 2006). "Jailbreak: $58 million prison sits empty". CNN. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  13. "New Election Poll Out; Defending the U.S.-Canada Border". CNN.com Transcripts. June 16, 2006.
  14. "Wapato Detention Facility". Multnomah County. 2017-11-02. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  15. Steele, Tim (28 December 2015). "County: Empty Wapato Jail no Place for Homeless". KOIN 6 News. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  16. Smitth, Loretta (25 August 2016). "Commissioner Loretta Smith wants Wapato open "today"". Portland Tribune. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017.
  17. Peterson, Danny (April 17, 2019). "Toran Offers a Plan for Wapato". The Portland Observer. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  18. Zielinski, Alex (October 11, 2019). "Developer Jordan Schnitzer Admits Wapato Jail Will (Probably) Be Demolished by 2020". Portland Mercury. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  19. Sparling, Zane (February 29, 2020). "Bybee Lakes Hope Center on track to open this year". Portland Tribune. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  20. Redden, Jim. "Wapato: Owner signs lease for Bybee Lakes Hope Center". Portland Tribune. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  21. Vespa, Maggie (August 12, 2020). "Portland's Wapato Jail rededicated as homeless shelter". kgw.com. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  22. Acker, Lizzy (2020-10-02). "Homeless reentry shelter opens in what was once the never-used Wapato Jail". oregonlive. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  23. "Repurposed Wapato Jail will open as a homeless shelter". opb. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
  24. "Wapato jail, the future Bybee Lakes Hope Center, offered up as COVID-19 treatment center". KPTV.com. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
  25. "Schnitzer, OHA talking about Wapato for COVID-19 patients". KOIN.com. 2020-03-19. Retrieved 2020-03-22.
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